Friends Like Us
by Emerald Crow
Summary: Post-RotS AU; Siri is caught at the Jedi Temple by the Emperor's new apprentice. Non-suit Vader, Siri and Obi-Wan. They are all closer in age than depicted in the movies and Siri stayed on her undercover mission with Krayn longer than in profic.
1. Chapter 1

This first chapter is very short. Post-RotS, non-suit Vader. Vader, Siri, and Obi-Wan are closer in age than in the movies. Aaaaand...go!

Disclaimer: This is Lucas' playground, I just felt like swinging on the swing for a little bit. His creation, not mine.

Chapter 1

The emptiness was overwhelming.

The feelings of surprise and despair palpable.

Siri Tachi stood in the middle of a large, cavernous chamber. She had long ago forgotten the name and the purpose of this particular room. _Did we learn about Hutt politics in here?_ she asked herself. No matter now. No one would be learning anything here any time soon.

She felt as if she was physically being assaulted by the ghosts from the thousands of slaughtered Jedi.

Closing her eyes, she took a long, deep breath but didn't dare open up to the Force. The fear of discovery was very great right now. No need to make it easier for _them_ to find her.

Even with her shields in place, the massacre had been so colossal and so tragic that she could not help but feel the residual effects echoing throughout her being.

Siri thought of her Master, wondering where she had fallen. Master Drallig. The padawans. She shuddered and shook her head.

Now was the time to start over. To begin anew. To erase the few memories still left.

She took another deep breath.

Slowly she began to turn around, still fighting the urge to let her shields down, to let out her essence and feel the world the way she had been taught.

Siri's boots made slight shuffling noises as they moved across the ancient floor with her turn, disturbing nothing save the dust.

She felt a sudden need to get out of the temple quickly and to get the kriff off Coruscant. She shoved the impulse down.

She knew enough from the holonews to know that the new _Emperor_ and his apprentice would kill her just for being a Force user if they found her. She completed her slow turn and opened her eyes.

Without warning a hand was wrapped around her throat.

She looked up…up into a face she barely recognized.

She knew him, though. That face was etched into her memory forever.

When had he gotten so tall?

The scar on his face was disconcerting; she only remembered the young man she had last seen before leaving the Temple seven years before.

Siri felt the hand lifting her up by the throat, her feet leaving the ground. Suddenly she stopped moving, his hand loosening as his eyes finally registered who he was choking. They narrowed.

"You," He spat.

"Grk," she replied.

Black spots swam in her vision as she began to lose consciousness.

Smiling grimly, he started to tighten his hand around her throat again.


	2. Chapter 2

After this post I hope to update once a week. The story is pretty much laid out, it just depends on my beta. Happy reading. :)

Chapter 2

Siri's was frantically trying to get free from Vader. He had a firm grip on her throat and her struggles seemed to be in vain.

There was a buzz through the Force. Darth Vader's entire face changed from twisted hatred to furious.

With an irritated grunt Vader threw Siri against the nearest wall. She hit it head-first hard, crumpling to the ground. Blood began to trickle from the cut appearing on her forehead. She began to see two of everything.

Vader motioned to the troopers behind him. "Bring her." He turned his back without a word and strode off as she was placed in stuncuffs and dragged along half-conscious.

Siri almost wished she would pass out, but something, maybe the Force, was keeping her lucid. They put her on a transport while the blood continued to dribble down her face.

During the trip she drifted in and out of awareness. After an amount of time she could not determine through the fog in her head, she was deposited on a cold black-tiled floor.

Siri looked up and recognized Palpatine from the holo where he had declared himself Emperor. She suddenly became fully alert. She tried to get to her feet.

Vader was slightly in front of the _Emperor_ and on one knee. The two Sith turned to look at her just in time to watch her fail in her fall back to the ground.

Palpatine rose from a large chair and shuffled closer, frowning at her as if she were a bug that had landed on his food.

"Siri Tachi. How nice of you to join us." He smiled a smile that SIri hoped never to see again. It was angry and bitter and exposed his putrid and decaying teeth. The contrast between the color of his teeth and the red walls all around was disconcerting. "Perhaps you would be so kind as to tell us where to find your old….friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi." It was a statement, not a request.

From the ground, she tried her best to look focused and unconcerned. She jutted her chin out and glared at the Emperor silently.

Vader continued to be silent.

Suddenly, she felt a battering ram trying to break down her shields. She was momentarily jarred, but then began to reinforce them. As they held, Siri felt relief that her shields were stronger than average. It was one of the reasons she had been chosen for the undercover mission with Krayn. Her skill had been critical in case she ran into a fellow Jedi or came across a person with latent Force ability.

The Emperor took a step closer and tried smiling again. "Tell us where Kenobi is, young one. It will only benefit you to cooperate with us."

"Wouldn't tell you even if I knew. Which I don't." the blonde snarled.

"Well then," the old man said after a moment. "The hard way it is. Take her to the cell block below and question her, Lord Vader. Use the torture droid if you must. Get past her shields and find out where Kenobi is."

"As you wish, my master," Vader intoned. He stood up abruptly and motioned to the troopers by the door to collect her.

The torture was….well, torture.

Everything hurt.

At first Vader wasn't involved. He let the intelligence people and their droids work on her. Siri cursed, ground her teeth and her nails opened cuts on her hands.

Still, it wasn't the worst she had suffered during her years underground.

Intelligence had put some kind of a collar on her that cut her off from the Force. No matter how much she tried she could not reach for it for comfort or healing. Unknown to her captors she had gotten used to life without the Force during her assignment; the collar wasn't quite as devastating to her psyche as the interrogators probably had hoped. She would not break. Not this easily, at any rate.

Siri couldn't say how long the electrical shocks, needles, and questions went on before Vader finally made an appearance in the stark room. She was chained to the cell floor with durasteel manacles. She wondered if she was even on Coruscant anymore.

Vader's impatience with the situation was so evident it made the troopers near him quake in fear.

The dark lord bade them remove the collar, but her arms remained manacled behind the back of the chair. She had been in the same position for what felt like years. Her head hung low and swayed from the drugs that clouded her vision.

She didn't have a chance to protect herself or to muster the energy to sit up straighter on the uncomfortable metal chair when the new barrage started.

He sat across from her looking bored while continuously throwing Force attacks at her shields trying to bring them down.

The strength of his attacks was exhausting, the pain in her head excruciating. But her shields held.

"Where is Kenobi?" he asked over and over.

Her shields held.

"Is he in the outer rim? Are there others with him? How many?"

And her shields held.

Siri's eyes had long since unfocused; her head lolled from side to side. The gray walls began to blend into one.

Finally as she was clinging to consciousness with only a single thread Vader broke off the attack abruptly. He stood and went to the door where she heard him whispering an order to the guard.

Her ears perked up. _This was taking longer than expected_, he said. He had to go on a mission off-planet for a few days. _Thank the Force_, she thought before finally allowing the darkness overtook her.


	3. Chapter 3

SiriFanatic1 – Thanks!

Ann – Thank you! I wanted to look at Siri by herself, I think she's such a great character in her own right.

Here we go….

Chapter 3

Siri became aware very slowly. Lying perfectly still, she began to run a mental damage assessment in order to judge how much lasting harm had been done.

The collar had been put back on at some point; she could feel soreness all over her body.

She looked around the sparse gray room wondering how long they had left her alone, but there was nothing to indicate the passage of time; Just a cot jutting out from the wall and a pail in the corner.

The size and dimness of the cell lead Siri to believe that she was most likely in the very bowels of the palace, kept isolated from any other prisoner.

She saw no visible cameras; maybe she was far enough away from the top levels they felt none was needed.

Carefully Siri stood, testing her limbs to see if there was any pinging or hitches. Her head thudded, making her stomach turn. Other than that there was only an overall achiness.

She listened. Absolute silence. Surely there was a guard on the other side of the huge gray door, but she heard nothing. The back of her throat burned for water.

Siri settled on the floor in a meditation pose and began to focus on the task at hand. She had to find a way out of this cell and quick.

She may not be able to reach for the Force, but she could still clear her mind and come up with a plan.

Her captor's mistake was in thinking that simply putting a collar on her would stop her.

Siri thought it had been about four days since she had fully awakened.

Once a day a set of hands put a tray holding food and water through the slot at the bottom of the big gray door.

Once a day she took only miniscule amounts of the food – enough to help with the hunger pains slightly, enough to keep her going. But not enough for them to realize she was eating anything. She also allowed herself a small sip of water with each tray, though her body screamed at her to gulp the entire glassful.

After a period of time passed, the little door would open and the tray would be taken out. She could hear voices murmuring on the other side of the door as the opening closed; they got a little louder every day.

On the fifth day the guards finally decided to see if she was dead.

Siri heard the locks turning and positioned herself next to the door. She was starving and dehydrated, but she felt alert nonetheless. The adrenaline rushed through her.

When the door opened she took advantage of the fact that the troopers were looking on the floor for a dead body.

Stepping forward quickly, she grabbed the rifle from the front one's hands as she kicked his gut. He flew backwards and she followed quickly, swinging the rifle like a club towards his head.

She heard a satisfying crack as it connected and the trooper went down. She smashed the weapon down once again, the clone's helmet cracking under the force of the strike.

Then she turned her attention to the trooper behind him. Still using the rifle, she dispatched him just as handily as his cohort on the floor.

Taking the blasters off of both of them, she left the rifle behind and ran down the hallway in the direction she hoped would get her out of here.

Siri almost wished she had time to take the collar off, but there was no time to stop.

It wasn't the first time she had been in a scrape like this; there were convenient signs everywhere to tell visitors how to get around.

Siri ran to the end of the hallway and got into a turbolift, which opened up to an extremely cavernous, ornately decorated hallway. Hundreds of people were milling about.

She slowed her pace a little and hid the pilfered blasters in her clothing so she wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb.

_How far can I get?_ She wondered.

The palace was seldom abandoned and usually looked like a crowded museum no matter the time of day. Luckily the tunic Siri was wearing had a hood, which she had pulled up in order to hide the suppression collar as best as she could.

Looking around quickly, she saw a bright blue sign with a ship on it and headed in the direction it was pointing. Maybe she could get to the docks and hide aboard something headed off-planet.

As soon as she got to a less crowded area Siri broke into a run again. She felt like she was making good time, weaving quickly through the turns the hallway made.

No alarms had sounded yet. _I'm going to make it!_

She could hear the sounds of the ships now, feel the rumbling they caused when their engines were roaring to life.

So close.

She rounded the last corner into a massive doorway which opened up into the ship dockyard. It was enormous and there were hundreds of ships in this section alone.

Siri was so busy scouting the crafts nearest her as she ran that she didn't see the large figure in black in front of her until he turned around.

Siri skidded on the slick floor, trying to come to a halt. _Kriff_, she thought to herself. _Kriff, kriff, kriff_!

No chance to turn back; Vader lifted his hand and used a remote to activate a switch on the collar still around her neck as she tried to back up. She spasmed and fell, blonde hair flying around her as the currents of electricity raced through her body. Vader loomed over her frowning.

"Did you really think you'd get very far? I thought you were smarter than that." he said, raising his eyebrows.

Siri looked at him and stuttered "T-t-t-thought….y-y-you…g-gone." _Blast, there's no way to get at the weapons while I'm twitching._

He shook his head and motioned for troopers that were always behind him to pick her up. "I hope you enjoy talking to my master. You've certainly gotten his attention now."

Siri groaned as the troopers grabbed her arms and pulled her up.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lord Vader bowed low, his head aching. Siri Tachi was quickly becoming the bane of his existence. His former friend had proven to be more stubborn and resilient than either Vader or his master had anticipated. Impossible to break.

Now he had been summoned back to his master's dark office, decorated grotesquely in reds, grays, and blacks. Twisted figures struck various poses on the walls around the room. Vader himself preferred a more sparse environment. All he needed was a place to eat and sleep; he didn't care about the details.

The Emperor scowled down at him.

"Five times, Lord Vader. Five times this woman has managed to break out of your prison and get past your troops. Your inability to keep her in her cell or get the information we need from her disappoints me."

Tachi lay on the floor in front of him, smoke rising from her clothes.

She was unconscious; her hands were still manacled and the collar was still around her neck. Vader could see blisters forming on the skin that was not covered by her tunic. Her muscles still twitched from being shocked so many times in the past few weeks.

Each time she escaped they found her in a different part of the palace. Once she was near the upper royal chambers trying to get to a private landing platform. Another time she was found in the throne room trying to use the secure comm network to call for help. The third time they caught getting on the maglev train.

Vader's head pounded.

"I can get the information, master. I need more time. Her shields are much stronger than we originally thought."

Another frown from his master, followed by prolonged silence.

"It becomes clear to me that your men are untrained, unskilled and wholly incompetent. You will not leave the planet until she is broken. Utilize all of your abilities, Lord Vader. Use whatever means necessary to find Kenobi." Palpatine turned his back on Vader and walked away slowly. When he reached his desk he turned back, the scowl still on his face.

"Figure this out and complete your task, Lord Vader. Do not fail me again. I am ready to be rid of Kenobi and his little chit."

"Yes, my master."

They took her to a different cell, construction hastily performed to make it more durable than the last one. There were energy bars all around it; 20 feet beyond the cell door was a second reinforced door. There were guards within that steel door as well as outside of it.

Despite the increased security, there was a large chair in this cell as well as a bench attached to the wall itself to one side. The sleeping area was now slightly larger with a folded blanket sitting on the surface. Intelligence had suggested small comforts in the cell to begin to build trust.

Vader stood by the doorway as Siri looked around. Rubbing her neck where it had chafed from the collar, she turned to him.

"What game are you playing?" she asked, blue eyes narrowing. "Just because you take the collar off and give me a blanket doesn't mean that I will be able to tell you something I do not know."

"Well then let's solve this right now," Vader growled, stepping closer to her. "Let down your shields so I can get into your head to see that you're telling the truth."

She looked up at him and a shiver ran down her back. What had happened to her childhood friend to make him so hostile?

"I won't," she said evenly. "It wouldn't do you any good anyway. You might as well kill me like you have all the other Force users. You won't gain any knowledge from me."

He studied her for a moment. "Maybe not," he said. "But at the very least we can hope that Obi-Wan will come looking for you. Then we will have him." He turned to leave, his dark cloak swirling.

"So I'm just bait for him, is that it?" she asked his back.

He paused at the cell door. "Exactly." He said pointedly. "Enjoy your stay."

"Why do you hate him so much? What in the galaxy did he ever do to you except be a good friend?"

"Good friend? He betrayed me in the worst possible way. I have every reason to hate him."

Siri shook her head, pony tail swaying with the movement. "Obi-Wan would never betray you. He loved you like a brother. Maybe you should be asking yourself what _you_ did to _him_."

Vader whirled and crossed the cell to stand before her in an instant.

"Do not defend him! You have no idea what happened. How he held me back and then betrayed me." He reached out with the Force and she could feel the invisible fingers around her throat. _Not again_, she thought. _Kriff_. "Maybe if I cause you enough fear and pain he will feel it through your bond. Let's try that, shall we?"

Siri struggled for air, her hands going to her throat instinctively. She dropped to her knees. _It won't work_, she sent in his direction. _He will never know if I don't call him._ Vader released her abruptly. He knelt down close to her, his head tilting as he studied her.

"What about the bond between you and Obi-Wan? Don't pretend you didn't have one. He told me a little about what happened between the two of you."

"There was a bond once but it has been long gone." Siri blinked up at him. "Maybe he…gave you the wrong impression about how close we were." She sat up a little, using her arms to brace herself.

"I do hope you're lying," he said, leaning closer to her face and running a finger down her cheek. "The only reason my master allows you to live is because of the connection you had to Obi-Wan. If you no longer have one, we have no need to keep you around."


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry I'm a day later than usual everyone. DRL was rough this week. Hope you like. :)

Valairy Scot – yes, she is having a hard time of it. :)

Loser 215 – As fast as I can. :P And thank you.

SiriObi-Wan – Here you go! Thanks for reading. Siri Rocks – 123 – I try to update once a week. Sorry I was a little late this time around.

Chapter 5

_Siri picked up the holopad she had been staring at for what felt like weeks and threw it across the table angrily. Anakin and Obi-Wan looked up from their own readings. Padawan braids hung from their heads._

"_What now?" Anakin asked._

"_All of these kriffing equations." She growled. "Why can't they just let us learn by doing hands-on?"_

_Obi-Wan sighed. "We have to learn how things work before we use them." He said patiently. "We've been over this. You're doing fine. This class will be over soon." Siri glowered at him._

"_It's dumb," Anakin said. "I agree with Siri. We don't need to know how machines work as long as we can _use_ them. The Force will show us what we need to do anyways, right?" Obi-Wan looked from one friend to the other. He shook his head._

"_I can't argue with the two of you when you get in these moods. I have studying to do. My Republic Law test is tomorrow." He said as he turned back to his work._

_Siri giggled; Anakin joined in with a chuckle of his own after a few seconds._

"_Told you it wouldn't take much," Siri said, eyes gleaming. "He's just as stressed about the tests as all of us, or else he would have put up more of a fight."_

"_You were right." Anakin said._

_Obi-Wan grumbled something under his breath but ignored them._

_Anakin stared down at the test material blankly. Then he looked up at Siri. "I really don't want to look at this anymore."_

"_Me neither." She pushed her chair a little from the table and sat back. "I can't wait until we become knights. I will not miss these tests at all. Or the classes."_

"_Or being told what to do all of the time," Anakin agreed. "Then we can go on our own adventures. We will be the masters."_

"_You'll never be knights if you don't learn the lessons," Obi-Wan growled. "You'll be cast to Agricorps and the temple will be better off without the both of you._

"_Do you think our padawans will be friends too?" Siri asked, ignoring her more studious friend and putting her chin in her hand._

"_Of course," Anakin answered, grinning. "The three of us will be the greatest Jedi ever. Our padawans will have to stand in our shadows with the rest of the Jedi."_

_Siri returned his smile, then stood up abruptly. "Forget studying. Lightsaber practice?" she asked. Anakin nodded emphatically._

_Obi-Wan groaned. "When are we going to study for our tests?" he asked._

_Anakin grinned at him. "Later." Was all he offered as he followed Siri out of the room._

_With another sigh, Obi-Wan went after them._

Sleep didn't come easy most nights; when finally it did come, there were dreams filled with shadows; evil things encompassing everything. The entire galaxy was overtaken by them as they choked out the light. All she could feel was despair and hopelessness.

Siri sat straight up in the sleep bench, heart racing. She never felt as lost as she did when those dreams came. She didn't have to be a master at the temple to know what they were about.

Deciding that sleep was overrated, Siri stretched and moved to the center of the cell where there was plenty of room for maneuvering.

She decided to lose herself in the old routines of a kata for a while. Clearing her mind, she let her body exert itself to the point of exhaustion. After about an hour and a half, she came to a slow halt, sweat dripping from her blonde hair.

She heard a clang behind her and turned around to find Vader leaning against the steel door frame watching her, arms folded.

"Ugh," she groaned. "What do you want?"

He ignored her question, instead looking at her steadily. "You didn't use the Force." He said mildly. "In fact, I realized this morning I haven't felt you use the Force since we found you at the temple until last night. I could feel terror rippling from this cell and then you used your power to alleviate it."

Siri looked at Vader steadily through the bars, feeling the sweat trickle down her neck. "I haven't used the Force for anything but basic survival in more than seven years."

When Vader continued to gaze at her, she sighed. "I couldn't take the chance that a Jedi would sense me. Is that a good enough answer for you?"

"You were hiding from Jedi?"

"Of course," she snapped, glaring at him. "I left the Order, didn't I? And in the line of work I went into, it could mean death if the people you worked for found out you could sense their thoughts and feelings."

"Of course." Vader parroted. "And you expect me to believe that you never had contact with Obi-Wan during your adventures. After all that the two of you had been through together."

Siri glared at him. "I swear to you. I never had contact with Obi-Wan after I left. The last day I saw him is the last day I saw _you_. The bond was severed by the council."

"Sticking to your story about your bond being gone. I still say you shouldn't be afraid to take down your shields if that is the case. Eventually we will get through them anyway."

Siri lifted her chin and looked at him defiantly. "We'll see. My shields are strong because I have learned to live without the Force. I don't use it to sense my surroundings, and I no longer need it to keep fear and pain away."

He walked towards her cell slowly, arms still folded, brow furrowed in thought. Stopping just short of the bars, he looked up. "What about when you fight?"

Siri's eyes gleamed. "Depends on the fight." She growled.

* * *

><p>Siri surveyed the practice room; it was not as big as the practice rooms at the temple, but it was large nonetheless. Black tile with silver and red veins marbling through it. The walls were just as dark, but void of decoration.<p>

Vader had removed his cloak and stood across from her in a loose stance.

Siri took in a slow deep breath and gripped the foreign lightsaber he had given her with both hands.

She had no idea where it had come from or whose it might have been previously. It felt odd; she hadn't held one in ages.

She also hadn't fought Vader since he was Anakin Skywalker and they were padawans together. They had been pretty well matched then, along with Obi-Wan. She had no clue how things would add up now, since they had gone their separate ways.

Siri knew he would make the first move. It had always been his way, even back then. When he leapt at her, she was ready.

Her lightsaber sprung to life, catching his before it could cut her. She slashed low, but he was already spinning around her and swinging his saber towards her head. She threw her arms backwards to catch his blade before it sliced her in half and spun to face him.

He was gone.

A kick hit her square in the back, propelling her forward. She had to switch off her weapon before it impaled her, but another kick sent her to the floor. _Kriff_!

A third kick in the gut, making her curl into a fetal position.

Vader was ruthless; he stalked around her smiling grimly. Feeling embarrassed about being outmatched so quickly, Siri reached out and opened herself to the Force.

It swelled in her, and suddenly she could _see_ everything. She rolled onto her back and flipped to her feet just as Vader planted a boot where her body had been.

Siri's green blade flared to life once more, and then she became the attacker. She pushed forward, swinging left and right, up and down with lightning speed.

Vader parried every one easily and had the gall to smile at her. She felt sporadic pushes against her mind from the Force; the Sith was trying to break past her shields, hoping that with her being open to the Force and distracted by the battle he would be able to get in.

She renewed her attack, but it didn't matter. He was too strong. She felt him slip past her defenses.

"You won't find anything there I haven't already told you," she snarled, swinging her blade down and to the left.

He caught it from below the blade and forced her arms up, trying to kick her feet out from under her. Siri felt his mind combing through hers, distracting her.

"So you really don't know where Obi-Wan is." He said, stepping out of her range as she flipped over him. "Then we will just have to use you as bait, won't we?"

Blades crossed again. "I still say," she started before she blocked a flurry of his slashes in a row and turned out in a flourish, "There is no way in hell Obi-Wan ever betrayed you. You were a spoiled brat but he defended you anyways."

"He betrayed you, too," Vader growled. "Why else did you leave the Order?"

"That," she kicked him and had the satisfaction of seeing him stumble "Is none of your business."

"It isn't hard to put together," he slashed low, "The two of you were supposed to run away together and in the end he chose the Order over you."

"That's a nice way to wrap up what happened. I won't argue with you, Anakin."

Before she could blink, he was in front of her, the blade of his saber at her throat, her fighting arm in his grip. His eyes glared into hers; they were a disconcerting yellowish-orange color.

Darkness swirled so thickly she almost choked on it.

"_Never_ call me by that name," he ground out. "That person is dead. And I may not be able to stop before I kill you next time you use it."

Siri huffed, trying to catch her breath. "I'm curious; why would you disavow the name altogether? Why get rid of the one thing you have left of your mother?"

The pupils of Vader's eyes turned redder, and he reared his saber arm back to strike a blow.

Siri stood still, her weapon still lit but tilted towards the ground.

Halfway towards her head Vader stopped, realization flooding into his eyes. "You want me to kill you." He growled, dropping his lightsaber and stepping back.

Siri looked at him steadily, still panting from the exertion of the exercise. "Better than being bait." She said unemotionally.

The Sith finally shut his saber down, ending the stare-off. "We're done here. You're out of luck with your death wish today."


	6. Chapter 6

Star Wars Freak-123 – Well, besides the embarrassment factor (which we will learn more about as we go along), Obi-Wan is known as a formidable swordsman – and a known Sith killer. :)

Chapter 6

_Siri peeked around the corner of the building, looking intently through the dark alleyway before her. It was empty._

_She nodded and motioned behind her._

_Obi-Wan came up and stretched his head around as well, his padawan braid swaying with the movement. Then he smiled at her and headed down the pavement silently, his lightsaber unlit in his hand._

_Anakin was right behind him, also sporting a braid. Siri brought up the rear, her senses stretched out and alert for any danger_

_Obi-Wan reached the end of the alley and leapt easily over the fence in front of him, followed by the other two._

_They climbed metal stairs quickly to the second floor of the building, crouching below the windows so they wouldn't be seen from the inside. The older padawan looked cautiously through the corner of the nearest window. He nodded at Anakin. "They're here," he whispered._

_Siri felt relief settle over her at those words. Her master had been taken over a week ago. The council had sent fully-trained knights to find her days ago, but they had failed. Siri had used her bond to find her master; Obi-Wan wouldn't let her come alone, and Anakin tagged along wherever they went._

"_What's the plan?" she asked in a hushed voice._

"_No plan," Anakin muttered. "No time. Let's just go."_

"_No." Obi-Wan said hoarsely. "We can't just rush in."_

_Anakin's eyes glinted with amusement as he jumped up and broke through the window, lighting his weapon as he went. Shattered glass rained around them._

"_Kriff it to hell!" Siri yelled, looking over the rim of the window to the other padawan below them already engaged in battle. "Why does he do that?"_

_Obi-Wan watched Anakin for a moment, then turned to her and grinned widely. "We have to stick together always." He said before he jumped in the same way his friend had._

_Siri groaned in frustration, but finally followed the others._

"_Kriffing loose cannon…." She thought on her way down._

"She truly does not know where Kenobi is, Master. I sensed no semblance of a bond between her and anyone else, not even him. If they still have one, I was not able to find it in the short amount of time I was within her shields. It might be best to get rid of her before she causes more trouble." Vader leaned more heavily on his knee, never raising his eyes from the black floor in front of Palpatine.

There was silence. His master liked silences. He liked to drag them out.

"No," the voice finally rasped. "I sense she is still the key to finding Kenobi. He is a greater threat than you can imagine, Lord Vader. I have seen it. We cannot leave a known Sith killer to roam the galaxy. We must eliminate him at all costs."

Vader remained silent and still. Disagreement with the Emperor was always painful. It was best to not say anything. The old man shuffled in front of him. "You will take this girl with you when you go to the Outer Rim." He commanded. "My visions tell me that is where Kenobi is hiding. If she is in the vicinity it will draw him out. Along with any other Jedi who might be hiding with him."

"Yes, my master." Vader stood and left without another word.

Siri stared steadily at the wall. Boredom was very dangerous. The longer she spent in captivity, the more her memories pushed at the surface. She still saw all of the faces of her past every day. Her memories threatened to drown her.

The memory of Obi-Wan's face as they made the decision to stay away from each other.

The look on Master Windu's face as he and Master Yoda told her about the upcoming mission; the worry behind her eyes. She knew why they had chosen her. She and Obi-Wan needed to be as far away from each other as possible.

The look on her Master's face as they 'fought', giving her a reason to leave the Order.

Finally, the faces of the other padawans, Anakin included, as she walked out of the Temple. Accusatory and disbelieving_._

Abruptly the outer door to her cell swung open and troopers entered determinedly, shaking her from her reverie. One trooper came through the second door, walked to her cautiously and slipped a collar around her neck.

Siri raised her chin. She hadn't needed the Force any of the times she had escaped them before; it didn't bother her when they put the collar on as much as it probably bothered others.

The troopers created a formation around her and then prodded her to move out of the room.

Siri looked around as they exited. She knew better than to waste her breath asking where they were going. Clones rarely cared to answer questions.

Surprisingly, they moved as one in the opposite direction from any of the rooms Siri had been to previously. Instead, they kept up their march through several corridors and squeezed into a turbolift before they brought her into a bay.

It was a good size, with a single large ship taking up almost the entire bay.

Siri's mind raced as the troopers continued without pause up the ramp into the ship and brought her to a cargo area.

There she saw a strange cage, which she was prodded into. The clone who had put the collar on her pointed a remote towards her neck, but she didn't feel anything happen. The bars closed and she went to put her hands around them.

The shock was unbelievable. Siri fell to the floor instantly.

The Force flared instinctively around her, but instead of the comfort she was seeking she felt more discomfort. It was like she was getting feedback from the Force; it kept looping into itself and projecting her own pain back to her.

"What is this?" she snarled. She had never seen or heard of anything like it.

The clones, of course, ignored her. She watched them walk up a set of stairs and into what she assumed was the main part of the ship.

Vader looked too smug for her taste.

"I do apologize," he said almost jovially. "I hope you understand that this measure was necessary. You are a known flight risk" He gestured at her 'quarters'.

Siri glared at him stonily from the middle of the cage.

The trooper next to him lifted his blaster towards her before activating the controls to open the cage.

Siri stepped out cautiously, never taking her eyes off of Vader or the trooper. Vader turned and strode up the stairs without a word, black cape swirling.

The trooper pushed her ahead of him and kept prodding when she fell too far behind the Sith. They got on a turbolift in silence and rode all the way to the top deck of the ship.

Vader exited and walked briskly, expecting them to keep up. He came to a door some way down the carpeted hallway and turned to face the thorn in his side.

"I will let you stay in this room," he started. "But if I sense even one thought about an escape I will throw you back in the cage and turn the stunner as high as it will go. Understood?"

"Of course, Lord Vader," the blonde responded sarcastically. "I couldn't be happier about this situation."

Vader activated the switch to the door. After it slid open the trooper pushed Siri in with no diplomacy. Vader followed her in.

It was a small cabin room, with a bed and the door to the fresher to one side, a couch in the middle, and a kitchen to the other side.

Siri looked around. "I'm afraid it isn't as rich as I've become accustomed to." She said dryly. "Perhaps something in the command quarters…?"

Vader ignored her and turned to the trooper. "Tell your men that this door is to have two guards at all times. When I am elsewhere, I want the force shield activated. When I am in my chambers it doesn't matter as much. Our apartments are attached." His blue eyes found hers. "I will know if she gets ready to run and be able to stop her before you even know what is going on." Siri met his look evenly.

He smiled tightly and walked out of the apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

Yay, updating on time this week!

Jedi Kay-Kenobi – Thanks! Hope you like this chappie!

123 Vader – Well, let's see shall we…

Chewbrok – Thanks! In my head, this story is a couple of years after the massacre of the Jedi, the birth of Vader. That would make Siri and Vader around 23, Obi-Wan a couple of years older.

Chapter 7

_The darkness was suffocating. She felt as if she was rushing towards something, but she couldn't see for the shroud of black all around her. She didn't want to see what was at the end of whatever journey she was on. _Wake up_, she commanded herself._ Wake up!

Her eyes snapped open. She lie still for a moment staring at the ceiling, heart racing.

_Damn the nightmares_, she thought.

It had been days of the walls closing in; it was impossible to do any physical activity here.

This room was smaller than her cell at the palace, if that could be believed.

Siri was sick of being in this room. Sick of being a prisoner. She was used to action, having to use her brain on a constant basis to keep herself alive.

The nightmares only made the situation chafe more; she could tell that something was coming but was powerless to stop it while being bound this way.

Besides all that, she hated when her mind had nothing to occupy it. She needed focus so that the memories would not encroach. She had made it her mission for years not to stop and remember anything. It hurt too much. This inactivity was bringing it all back.

It was a weakness she could not afford now, with Vader trying to listen in on her thoughts.

_Siri sat next to Anakin watching Obi-Wan spar with Master Yoda in the practice room. _

"_He's the best of us," she said somewhat proudly._

_Anakin glanced at her. "I will be the best," he said determinedly. "He just has a little bit of an advantage because he's a couple of years older."_

_Siri looked at him. "He was the last of us chosen to be an apprentice," she pointed out. "He has a natural gift for this, Anakin."_

_The boy scowled. "I _will_ be the best," he growled. "I will beat even Master Yoda someday. Besides, Obi-Wan is too cautious. It will be his downfall."_

_Siri shook her head. "Jealousy does not suit you, Anakin. Someday you will rush headlong like you do and get impaled by a saber."_

"_That'll be the day," he grinned at her and tugged her hair playfully. "I guarantee you that in a couple of years I will be better than you and Obi-Wan. Then you two will love following me around the galaxy having adventures. You'll learn the joy of rushing headlong into things." Siri laughed, shaking her head._

Blue eyes stared unfocused at the wall in front of her. They had been so happy back then, before the wars. Before the scandal she and Obi-Wan had created. They had felt invincible; had been inseparable when at the Temple between missions. _When did it all go wrong_? She wondered.

As if he had been summoned by the memory, her door slid open and Vader walked in. He looked around briefly before his eyes settled on her lounging on the couch. He walked to a chair sitting across the table from her and sat down without a word.

"Please, come on in," Siri said sarcastically.

Anakin reclined a little and threw his left arm over the back of the chair, looking completely relaxed. He continued to stare at her until she got uncomfortable enough to sit up and face him.

"We are on the outskirts of the Outer Rim territories," he said, keeping his steady gaze on her.

"Okay," Siri said slowly. She could feel he expected something of her.

"Do you sense him? Can you feel where he is?"

She returned his stare with one of her own. "I told you the bond was broken ages ago." She said tiredly.

"So open your shields." He growled. Darkness began to seep slowly into the room. "See if you can find him."

"Sure. I'll get right on that." He continued to stare at her and she sighed. "I told you, it won't matter now that the bond is broken. If you can't feel him through the Force, neither can I."

Now he sat up and leaned towards her. "Stop being stubborn, Siri. Help me find him. You don't want me to start up the torture again."

Siri also leaned forward. "You're going to kill me whether we find him or not. I'd rather not take someone else down with me. More accurately, I'd rather not take someone _of value_ with me."

Her point was not lost on Vader. He stood up abruptly and walked to the window. "You really think that little of me now?" he asked.

"I think less of you than you can imagine." She retorted to his back.

He looked back at her over his shoulder. "You don't even care that I had reasons. That I had no choice for what I did. That I was pushed to this."

Siri glared at his back. "I care that you slaughtered everyone we ever knew and loved. And I think that we always have a choice. You will get no sympathy from me, Ana….Vader. I could care less what your reasons were. The end results are the same."

He whirled around to face her, blue eyes intense. "Don't you see? I had to use the dark side to gain the power to save her. To keep her from dying. It was all for her."

Siri felt a growing horror as she watched Vader. Realization suddenly flooded through her body. "Is this about Padme?"

Vader grimaced at the name and turned his head from her.

"Force, I knew you had a thing for her but I never realized it got that twisted! You turned yourself into a monster for _Padme_?"

"Not a monster. Just more powerful. And not just for her," he said vehemently. "I couldn't lose anyone else. Not after losing my mother and my master. I had no choice. That doesn't make me a monster." He walked towards her, his hands held out. Almost pleading. "Don't you see? Only with these new powers can I protect the ones I love."

Siri's hands clenched into fists. "We've all lost our masters and people we were close to, and no one else has gone to the extremes that you have. You didn't do this for anyone but yourself. Protect the ones you love? By the Force! You killed _younglings _that day at the temple! What did they ever do to you?"

"I had to," Vader snarled. "If I hadn't they would have grown up seeking revenge on me. My master said as much. They would have caused problems for the Empire."

He turned away from her to face the window again. "I never thought _you_ would be so judgmental. Of all of them, I would think you would understand the most. The Order treated you just as badly as they treated me. Obi-Wan most of all. I never thought _you_ would hate me."

"I was raised not to hate." Siri ground out. "But there are times when I feel nothing but hatred for you. These new powers are dangerous. You are destroying the galaxy with them. Destroying yourself. You don't understand the ramifications of what you and your _Emperor_ are doing"

He turned to her, smiling scornfully. "I could teach you, you know. You don't know how freeing it is, to be able to use all of your abilities without restraint. To reach for your destiny."

Siri shook her head. "I want nothing to do with it. Any of it."

Vader came to stand in front of her. He reached out and grabbed her chin to force her to look at him. "Fine. It doesn't really matter anyways," he said lowly. "Your fate is already sealed. The only question is will it be fast and merciful, or slow and painful?"


	8. Chapter 8

I am supremely sorry about the 4-month hiatus. We all know how DRL goes, though. Here's the next chappie.

Chapter 8

_The darkness was smothering her. She felt as if she was rushing towards something, but she couldn't see for the shroud of black all around her. There was something ahead, coming towards her quickly. Or was she heading towards it?_

_She didn't want to see what was at the end of whatever journey she was on._

Wake up_, she yelled at herself. _Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!

Her body jolted as she awoke violently, but not before she saw an opening of light with the silhouette of a person rushing towards her.

She kept still for a moment staring at the ceiling as she always did, heart racing.

Vader had started up the torture again after their last talk, sending in droids to pump her with drugs before using more shock therapy in an attempt to get her to reach out to Obi-Wan.

Siri was sure the Sith lord knew it was doing no good, but still he continued every day. Her muscles twitched sporadically now whether she was hooked up to the electrodes or not.

She turned her head and almost had a heart attack; there was a dark-shrouded figure sitting in the chair by the bed.

Vader was relaxed into the back of the chair, his hand on his chin thoughtfully. His gaze was fixed on her.

"Son of a trayke, why are you here?" She asked, closing her eyes and then opening them again. "No, you really are sitting there. Don't you have your own room? Should I expect this to be a normal occurrence?" she asked, irritated.

"What kind of dreams were you having just now?" he asked in a low voice.

"Go away," Siri replied icily.

"What kind of dreams were you having just now, Siri?" He asked again, leaning forward slightly.

She turned towards him and leaned forward on one elbow as if she were revealing a secret. "I dreamed….about a creepy Sith lord watching me sleep." She plopped her head back onto her pillow.

Vader continued to watch her for a moment. "Are these dreams a regular routine with you?" He asked.

"Jedi don't dream," she answered automatically, her eyes closed again.

"But you aren't a Jedi."

Siri's eyes popped open at his statement and she turned to him again. "Are you going to be in here a while? I would like to go back to sleep," she ground out.

Vader ignored her. "Yoda used to say the same thing to me," his gaze slid to the side, unfocused as he remembered. " 'Jedi don't dream'. Then what else explains seeing things while you're asleep if they aren't dreams?" he asked before he focused back on her. "How long have you been having visions?"

Siri didn't answer. She realized that Vader had probably seen at least glimpses of what she'd seen; no matter how good your shields are, when you're sleeping they weaken.

Blue eyes glared at him, before she threw the covers off and got out of the sleep couch.

"There goes the whole going-back-to-sleep idea." She growled. The white sleep pants and tank top stood out in the darkness almost as much as her blonde hair.

Vader stood as well, and she could see that he was also in his sleep attire, black pants and a black shirt which fell open slightly. He walked towards her.

"There used to be a time when we were friends and you would tell me things like what you dreamed." He said.

"No. There used to be a time when you were friends with Obi-Wan. I had to deal with you to be near him."

He smiled at her denial and stalked closer. "There used to be a time when you trusted me."

"No." she said again, backing up. "I never trusted you. You were too unpredictable and your arrogance irritated me."

Again the smile. He knew she was lying. "But you did enjoy having me at your back in a fight."

"Sometimes." She conceded. Her back hit the wall. "When we weren't saving you because your idiocy had gotten you in trouble again."

"Do you remember," Vader put his hands against the wall on either side of her, trapping her between his arms. "When we used to talk about being Jedi Masters together? Having padawans that were best friends. Going on adventures."

Siri kept her eyes on his. "What's the point of this, _Lord_ _Vader_?" she asked, emphasizing the new name he had taken. She felt trapped, and that made her want to fight. "You won't find Obi-Wan by making me reminisce with you."

"The two of you…when you fell in love. Did you realize you were leaving me in the lurch? That what you did would affect not just your futures? Obi-Wan was my best friend and you two were the only allies I had in that temple. You didn't even think about how it would affect my path if you became involved."

Siri looked up into his face, which was so very close. He was towering over her, trying to intimidate her.

"We didn't give in," she said shakily. "We didn't want to ruin our futures. We stayed the course."

Anakin raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. "I tend to think not. Obi-Wan was my best friend; I knew what he felt for you. There had to be times, especially when you left the Order, that the two of you were together."

"No," she whispered, looking down. "When I realized there was no way to be around him without wanting to be with him, I left. I didn't want it to affect his path. He was born to be a Knight." She looked up and searched his eyes for forgiveness. "I stayed away from that moment on."

He met her gaze with narrowed eyes. Time stretched in silence.

"I don't believe you," he said finally. "I think you've gotten very good at hiding the truth. You are not the friend I used to know. The Siri I knew was up front and honest about everything, even if it hurt someone's feelings, even if it meant danger to someone."

"You're one to talk," Siri snarled. "I wouldn't trust you further than I can throw you. I'll bet you don't even have your own thoughts anymore. Everything you think, believe and say comes straight from your precious _Emperor_. But tell me this: can you really trust anything that he says to you?"

"At least he gave me the means to become more powerful. You became nothing. A smuggler's whore who can't even use her Force powers and pines over a traitorous Jedi who betrayed her in every way."

Siri blinked and before either of them could react she brought her arm back and punched the Sith lord solidly in the gut.

He stumbled back and doubled over, looking at her in shock. Then he laughed as he gasped for breath from the impact of her fist.

Siri loomed over him "Memory Lane is closed, Vader. The next time you try to manipulate my feelings I will kill you or kill myself trying," she snarled.

Vader shook his head, still cradling his stomach. "You do realize that you just went from distraught to anger in zero seconds," he said, starting to uncurl. "I always did enjoy your temper. Obi-Wan was always so steady, but it was fun to get you riled up."

Siri said nothing, just glared at him with her hands balled into fists.

Vader finally straightened. He reached out to run his hand through a lock of her hair. "You were definitely not cut out to be a Jedi," he said as she swatted his hand away angrily. "You'd make a much better Sith. Too bad we're not looking for recruits."

"It wouldn't matter," Siri spat. "I would not turn."

Vader raised his eyebrows. "But you have nothing to turn from, remember? You're not a Jedi."

"Just because I'm not a Jedi does not mean I can't turn to the dark side." They glared at each other.

"What did you hope accomplish with this? That I would remember we were all friends and feel sorry enough to help you find Obi-Wan?" she asked.

Vader turned away, but not before she saw something in his eyes. It suddenly struck her how lonely it must be for him; the Emperor's apprentice, no friends, no mentors, no…

"Where's Padme?" she asked suddenly. "You did this for her. Where is she?"

The despair seemed to envelope him instantly; his shoulders sagged. "I do not wish to discuss it," he said in a low voice. "I have to go."

"But I…." her words trailed off as the door swooshed shut behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

Jedi-Jay - Anakin always was selfish, wasn't he? However, they were all friends, so it's hard for Siri not to feel a little sorry for him. Hope you enjoy this next chapter...

Chapter 9

_Geonosis. Horrible planet, Siri thought. She sat at her holoscreen watching the news alerts about the sudden spark that had started an intergalactic war. According to the reporter Jedi Master Kenobi had been researching odd dealings involving a clone army when he had been captured. Master Yoda had brought the mysterious new clone army and thousands of Jedi to rescue him and put a stop to the Separatist Forces. It was being reported that they had lost almost 90% of the Jedi they came with. _

_Anakin's master, now called Count Dooku, had disappeared several weeks ago while the two were assigned to guard Senator Amidala on Coruscant. It appeared that Dooku had been found on Geonosis, turned from the Order. Or perhaps he had been hiding the fact that he were a Sith the whole time, Siri thought._

_Surely Anakin had already been shaken when Dooku disappeared. Siri could imagine the disbelief over the revelation that Dooku had turned. The blonde reached out from her location near Nal Hutta and could feel a hundred different emotions flowing from her old friend. Confusion, anger, and…anguish. But the latter did not seem to be connected to this moment. Siri frowned, trying to pin it down but then decided now was not the best time and she was too far away._

_The holocameras were not allowed very close to where the action was, but behind the reporter Siri could see that Anakin was on the floor; he appeared to be unconscious. Padme Amidala was by his side._

_Dooku lie in the middle of the hangar, very still. The news alert was at the point now where the reporter was repeating old information for any new viewers tuning in. Siri continued to scour the background for any glimpse of…._

_Just as her eyes found Obi-Wan stumbling to his feet, there was a commotion out of sight of the cameras._

_Siri could hear Anakin's voice rising above everything. "He should have been taken alive!" he screamed, his voice colored with tears._

_Siri could hear someone – it sounded like Yoda - saying something, but it was too low to be heard. Anakin continued to rage._

_As Obi-Wan reached his friend the vidfeed was suddenly lost. Siri stared at the blank screen for a moment in deep thought. If she reached out a little, she could still feel Anakin's despair like a beacon pointing to his exact location. A part of her longed to be there with them all, her once-friends and closest confidants._

_Siri shook her head, blonde ponytail swinging. She had made her choice; chances were she would not see any of them again, no matter how much she wished to comfort them._

The door swooshed open with a slight hiss of air and Vader walked in slowly.

Siri turned from the window she had been staring out and raised an eyebrow. He looked terrible. He moved stiffly as he made his way to the bed on the far side of the apartment. He stared at it blankly for a minute before turning around and sinking onto it. He sat for a beat on the edge, then let himself fall backwards and closed his eyes.

Siri mentally shook off the remnants of her memories and snorted.

"Rough day?" she asked mockingly. The Sith simply groaned. He raised his hands to rub his eyes, looking like a child. Siri could see the weariness from whatever he had been battling in the last several days since she'd seen him last.

She walked towards the bed, stopping when she got about a foot away. "Why are you here? Go look pathetic in your own chambers."

Vader sat up to face her. He was so tall that even though he was sitting on the bed their faces were about the same height this way.

It was then that Siri could see the multitude of scratches on his face, a large bruise forming on his cheek. She remembered the boy she used to know, how he could sometimes get so emotional when things didn't go his way.

As she continued to gaze at him, she could sense a multitude of emotions pouring from him. Sorrow, frustration, with an odd mixture of triumph. Anakin/Vader had never been good at keeping his emotions in check from the Force.

Her fingers reached out and gently touched a cut above his eyebrow. Vader flinched away.

"You know, you're a Sith lord now. I hear that's a pretty big deal." She murmured. "You don't have to be on the frontlines all of the time. Let your clones do their job once in a while."

He didn't answer her, just wrapped his arms around her suddenly, pulling her closer. He rested his forehead on her shoulder. The anguish began to overpower the rest of his emotions.

"So…really rough day." Siri said against the top of his head.

"Can we just pretend we're friends again for a little while? Please?" Vader asked hoarsely.

Siri fought an internal battle. Friends…enemies? It was hard to forget how close they had once been, particularly when he looked this broken.

"Yes," she said simply. Disengaging from him, she laid down on the bed on her back and patted the bed so he would lie down next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, putting her arms behind her head.

"No," Vader murmured as he adopted her pose and stared at the ceiling. Neither of them spoke. The silence dragged on. She felt him once again trying to probe her mind. She let him try, knowing he wouldn't get very far.

"It must have been lonely," he said quietly. Siri thought for a minute. "I would say the same thing to you." She said just as softly

More silence. Then: "Siri, Padme and I got married. Right after Geonosis."

She digested the information. "I see."

"She was pregnant….I started having dreams like I did right before my mother died."

"So what happened?"

"Palpatine told me there was a way to save her…but I would have to use dark side powers. I think it would have worked. I could feel the power growing every time I used the anger.

I was on Mustafar taking care of the Separatists. Padme came to me. Obi-Wan was with her. I had suspected something between them in the past, but she always convinced me there was nothing going on."

"So you got angry," Siri said grimly.

He lay quietly. "I could feel that she was alive. But I guess she…Obi-Wan pulled her into the ship while I was knocked out. My master was the one to tell me…that she was gone."

Siri thought for a minute. "And the child?"

Vader closed his eyes. "Gone as well," He said.

She turned to her side and looked at his face. "Are you sure Obi-Wan and Padme were involved?"

He didn't answer. Didn't open his eyes.

Siri lie back once more, her eyes focused back on the ceiling. She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she felt Anakin was within her mental shields. He had already begun to sift through the memories at the forefront of her mind.

_How long has he been poking around up there?_ She wondered, instantly fully awake.

Panic set in as she realized how exposed she was but instead of slamming her shields up she began to guide him to certain memories. The Sith sifted through memories of her time with Krayn fairly swiftly, pausing briefly when he saw her killing the slave trader not long ago.

Then he moved on, catching the memory of her leaving the temple – seven years ago.

At the time everyone in the temple believed she had a fight with her master and left the Order. Now Vader could see that all of that had been a ruse, a way to get Siri accepted into Krayn's organization and keep the rest of the Jedi population none the wiser.

Before he could linger in that spot too long, Siri gently pushed him to a memory a few years after that. It was of when she was on a particularly successful slaving mission. The one where she decided to never return to the Order; she had enjoyed her freedom too much; hadn't wanted to go back to the restrictions the Order put on everything. Vader's essence smiled at that in her mind.

He moved on and came to the moment when she had felt her master die. It had been as a result of Order 66, at the same time Vader was wreaking havoc on the temple. She felt the grief and anger she had felt then once again taking over her and thought maybe this recollection would be the end of Vader's exploration.

Instead he began to push further. Siri had had enough and threw her shields back up, knocking him out of her head violently.

Vader turned towards her and smiled sadly. "Can't blame me for trying. It is my nature." He murmured softly. He shifted backwards, bringing her with him so that she lay cupped under his left arm, her head pillowed on his shoulder. That was the last thing Siri remembered before she drifted to sleep again.


	10. Chapter 10

Jedi-Kay - haha, I got it right this time! ;) - You're about to find out what he's been up to...

Chapter 10

At some point a comlink went off. Vader searched for it briefly, and then Siri heard him talking into it - too low to make out the words. She started to turn towards him, but he put his hand on her back and she couldn't resist the sudden overwhelming urge to sleep.

The next time she awoke was late in the morning. Siri looked around the room, but Vader was nowhere to be found.

Staring at the wall in front of her, she began to run back over the conversation from the night before. At least there was finally some insight into what had happened. It didn't excuse things, but it did answer a few of her questions.

Then she thought about how Vader had breached her shields. She had no idea how much he had seen before she had awakened. Since she had been asleep she couldn't remember what she had been thinking about when he was looking through her head.

_Guess I'll find out soon enough_, she thought. _I'm scheduled to die eventually anyways. Maybe this will make it sooner._

To her surprise, two days went by with no word from Vader. The serving droids brought meals to her. Her guards stood outside stoically. She paced for a while. She could feel various changes in the direction and speed of the ship. When it did stand still she could feel periodic vibrations. Siri knew what those meant; a firefight of some kind.

Siri walked to her door and stared at it. She sat down in a meditation pose and reached out tentatively for the Force. She could hear the hum of the ship, the clinks and clanks of machinery.

She could also hear the troopers outside of her door talking. They were discussing the battle.

"….the prisoner…..you they are looking for…." It was hard to make out exact words. Siri opened herself to the Force more, enhancing her hearing.

"…Kenobi. He was brought in a few days ago. Hell of a battle from what I hear. Looks like his friends want him back." The trooper was saying.

Siri sucked in her breath. _Obi-Wan!_

She fought the urge to jump up and run to the cell block immediately. Sometimes her impatience rivaled Vader's. Speaking of Vader…her wandering mind found him on the bridge. She retreated instantly, putting her shields back in place before he could notice that she was seeking anything. His mind had seemed distracted; hopefully he was none the wiser.

It occurred to her that if what the clone had said were true, Vader had caught Obi-Wan two days ago – the same day he had come to her apartment in a beaten-down state.

Feeling a flash of anger and self-disappointment Siri reached out to the Force again, trying to get a sense of the layout of the ship and an idea of where Obi-Wan may be.

Siri could feel the minds of various ship personnel throughout the levels. She touched the minds she encountered gently as she went, searching for any memory of the Jedi Master.

The apartment door slid open unexpectedly and Vader strode in, cloak billowing behind him.

Throwing up her shields quickly, Siri stood and faced him. He stopped inside the door turned slowly towards her; they stared at each other warily.

"Well," Siri began. "You might as well go ahead and tell me what I already know. Make if official."

Vader had the decency to look away. His jaw clenched. "He is in the brig." He ground out.

"No kidding."

He looked at her again. "And here you are back to hating me."

Her eyes flashed. "You lied to me. You tricked me into letting my shields down."

"I didn't lie to you," the Sith said smoothly. "You never asked the question, and I just didn't offer up the information."

Siri flew at him, catching him in the jaw with her fist. It threw his head back, but he caught the next hand before it could connect and held it still.

Siri glared at him. "I want to see him," she snarled.

"He's asking for you as well," Vader said tiredly. He let her go. "I will allow it. But I will be with you. Don't think the two of you can make any plans."

Siri nodded firmly. Vader activated the switch by the door and gestured for his clones to surround her.


	11. Chapter 11

Took a little break for vacation, but I'm back.

Jedi-Kay: :D

Chapter 11

As the group moved through the ship, Siri kept her eyes straight ahead. Vader walked next to her. They got into a turbolift in silence.

After exiting, Siri decided to bring up the bantha in the room. "So. I guess my time is up now." She said, keeping her eyes ahead.

Vader continued to walk in silence, ignoring her question.

When they got to the cell blocks, the Sith turned to his troopers and guards. "Stay here." He commanded.

He entered a code into the keypad of a large door made of bars. They glowed slightly with electricity until the code was complete. There was a loud clack, then the bars turned a normal gray color and the door swung open. He gestured for the blonde to enter first.

Siri's breath caught when she walked into the next room. It was quite big; in the middle was a cage like the one she had been brought onboard in.

Obi-Wan sat in the middle in a meditation pose. Bruises littered his face; his lip was split and there was a cut above his eye. He opened his eyes to look at them, focusing first on Vader, whom he looked at warily.

Then he turned to her. She saw something else enter the blue orbs, but it was quickly hidden behind a look of indifference. Vader stepped to the cage cautiously.

"You wanted to talk to her; she's here." He growled.

Obi-Wan stood up slowly with a wince. "I said I wanted to talk to her alone." He said pointedly.

"Like hell I would let you talk to her alone," Vader shook his head. "Say your goodbyes now, _Master_."

Siri looked at the man next to her. The way he had said master…with so much hatred. It was in his eyes, too, she saw.

She turned to Obi-Wan, feeling suddenly awkward. "You look well, Siri," he growled. "You must tell me the secret of getting out of this cage and into quarters next to the Emperor's favorite weapon. Standard female persuasion?"

Siri narrowed her eyes. "Maybe if you smiled more," she stated acidly.

Vader looked from one to the other with amusement on his face.

"Do you see why it was pointless to use me as bait, Lord Vader?" Siri asked, eyes still blazing.

"Indeed," the Sith said with a grin. "I guess I could have saved myself a headache."

A trooper poked his head in the doorway. "Lord Vader. The Emperor commands you make contact with him."

"Not now," Vader said, not taking his eyes off of the two ex-friends.

"My lord, he commanded you contact him. Immediately."

Vader turned on the trooper angrily, then stopped. He glanced back at Siri and Obi-Wan.

"Hand me a collar," he told the clone. When it was brought in, he put it around Siri's neck and pointed at the trooper. "Stay with them. I will not be gone long. Never take your eyes off of them." Before he left, he turned the electricity field back on around the cage.

Siri moved closer to the cage, silently cursing the collar around her neck.

Obi-Wan also moved closer, his eyes on the clone. They shifted to her. "Are you alright?" he asked lowly.

"You were supposed to use the information I sent you to get away," she hissed in a whisper. "Not get yourself caught. You stupid nerfherder!" The last sentence was said loudly, causing the trooper to turn his head to them briefly.

Obi-Wan smiled. "Run away? And let you have all the fun?"

"Damn you, Kenobi. You're a fool."

He looked at her intently, then moved to the furthest corner of the cage, careful not to touch it. Siri followed, getting as close as she could. She threw a look over her shoulder, but the trooper didn't seem to care whether he could hear them or not. That caused a pang of concern, but she dismissed it and turned back to Obi-Wan.

"We have to get you out of here," she whispered. "The good thing is I think the Emperor wants to deal with you personally, so they will try to transport you back to Coruscant."

"I won't leave without you," Obi-Wan whispered back. "If your plan doesn't include getting yourself out, forget it."

"Ugh, stubborn man," she groaned. She considered the trooper again, then said "Fine. We'll have to move fast and furious." The Jedi Knight nodded.

"So finally you have Kenobi, Lord Vader."

"Yes, Master," Vader knelt on the floor.

"Bring him here as we discussed. We will make an example of him." The Emperor rasped. "Kill the girl. She is no longer of use to us."

Vader said nothing.

Palpatine squinted from his oversized projection. "I suspect you are about to ask me to spare the chit."

"She could be a great asset, Master. She left the Order out of resentment. She has much anger in her."

"You want to turn her?" The face glowered at him. "Keep her with you as a companion I suppose."

Again, Vader said nothing.

Finally, Palpatine spoke. "Kill her, Lord Vader. Learn from your previous mistakes with attachment. Kill her quickly before your weak mind falters again." He shut the comm off before the Sith could respond to him.

Vader stayed kneeling on the floor, seething. He'd had enough of Palpatine. _I am almost stronger than him_, he thought. _With help I can overthrow him. Rule the galaxy the way I want to_. He thought of Siri. Imagined her joining forces with him. She could be the advisor for his Empire, his second in command.

He was so tired of being alone; it had started when his mother had died and continued from there. The reason he had so needed Padme to stay alive was so that he would not be alone.

Standing with a flourish of the cloak, Vader started towards the cell block quickly. He needed to get rid of Kenobi so that Siri would have nothing holding her back from joining him.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

They moved fast, just as they planned. Siri moved towards the door.

"I'm done here. I can't talk to this damned fool anymore." She growled at the clone.

She walked past him, and before he could turn to follow she had moved with lightning speed to crack his head to the side.

She grabbed his weapon and fired it into the control room just outside the cell. The shot went wide, but Siri used the time that the clones were ducking under desks to snatch the controls to the cage and free Obi-Wan.

He ran out, looking for anything to use as a weapon and finding nothing. "Blast! We need to find my lightsaber."

"I'm less worried about your lightsaber and more worried about this collar," Siri said. Before he could answer, she was running into the next room.

She had fired the blaster several times by the time he caught up with her. One clone was down, but two others were still hiding behind the protection of the desks.

"Give me the gun!" Obi-Wan shouted.

Siri threw the gun at him; he caught it and ran into the thick of the troopers. Before they knew what was happening, he had overcome them.

The entire melee lasted mere seconds.

Siri looked towards the Jedi, who was searching frantically through drawers. "What are you doing Kenobi? You have to get out of here!"

"The collar controls." He said hurriedly. "And I told you I'm not leaving you."

Siri grabbed his arm. "There's no time! Listen, Obi-Wan," she looked into his eyes fiercely, trying to convey her urgency. "You will be instrumental to the downfall of the Empire. I have seen it! I am not important to our survival, but _you_ are! You have to get out of here!"

Obi-Wan looked at her, stunned.

"Look, I am right behind you. If they don't see us we can make it." Siri said. "But if they get me, you have to go on."

Finally he nodded, and they ran out of the cell block towards the hangars.

The alarm sounded when they were about three-quarters of the way to the ships.

"Don't stop!" Siri yelled. "It takes them time to get everything locked down!"

The two moved as one around the corner to the hangar. There was a row of single-pilot ships on the far wall; they headed towards those.

Without warning a large temporary wall used to divide the hangar in times of emergency slid down and separated the two escapees from the ships with a resounding _clunk_.

Winded, Siri looked around and saw a small transport on their side of the wall. She grabbed Obi-Wan's arm and pulled him in the direction of the ship.

They hadn't gotten far when she felt Vader enter the hangar. Pushing Obi-Wan ahead of her, she yelled "Keep going!" and turned to face the angry Sith.

He didn't try to walk towards them, simply waited for Siri to come to him. Siri came to a stop about five feet away from him.

"Wish I could say I'm surprised." He said mildly.

"Vader…." She trailed off.

His eyes flickered to the ship then back to her. "Don't go, Siri. Stay with me."

Siri blinked. "What? I can't."

"Yes, you can," he said, taking a step forward. "I can teach you how to use your power to the fullest extent. Together we can overthrow the Emperor."

Siri looked down for a moment, then looked behind her at the ship Obi-Wan was already aboard. She turned back to her old friend sadly. "I can't. I can't be the person you want me to be." She said.

"You can," his voice was getting harder now. "Don't leave me now. Help me get rid of Palpatine. Then we can set the galaxy right."

"Right to whom, Vader? You?" she took a step closer to him. "Don't worry about the Emperor. We will take care of him soon enough."

"'We'," he repeated quizzically. He glanced at the ship Obi-Wan was on again. Over the sounds of the hangar, it could be heard powering up.

"Vader…Anakin. I…I am with the Jedi." Siri kept her eyes steady on his.

Frowning, he took his first retreating step. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Siri said softly. "We needed to get into the palace. Into the levels only a few had access to. We knew that you went back to the temple frequently looking for wayward Force-sensitives. And we knew how your hatred for Obi-Wan made you vulnerable."

The anger in the Sith's eyes began to tint them yellow. "Why all of the escape attempts then? Just to convince me you were really caught?"

Siri shook her head. "You weren't supposed to keep me so long. We thought Palpatine would kill me. All I had to do was get close enough to him to plant tracers so he could be tracked and assassinated. Once I realized you meant to keep me as prisoner I spread the tracers around the palace. They can be detonated by remote. Think of the places you found me. I was almost ready for them to blow it when you took me off planet."

"A suicide mission. How noble." Vader said angrily.

He took a step backwards. "How could you?" he snarled. "You used our friendship to destroy everything I have worked for."

"You used our friendship to try to kill someone you hated. At least what I did was for the good of the galaxy." She stepped closer yet again, dangerously close. "Anakin, this is about to crumble around you. Get out while you can. Start anew, forget about the wrongs you've done. Padme would want you to forgive yourself."

He stared at nothing in particular. Then he stepped forward and grabbed her upper arms. His nose was almost touching hers. "Go." He growled. "Go now, before I change my mind."

Siri turned and started to run to the ship. She stopped and turned around. "Come with us." She said.

Vader's shoulders sagged. "I can't." he said simply. Then he turned and walked away.

Siri watched for him walk away before turning to run towards the waiting ship.


	13. Chapter 13

LuvEwan - you are too kind, my friend. But I thank you for your words.

Jedi-Kay - :)

Darth Vadie - yup!

Okay everyone, here is the last chapter. Thank you for letting me share this with you.

Chapter 13

Siri entered the cockpit breathlessly and threw herself into the co-pilot's seat. Obi-Wan threw her a glance, then turned to the controls and began to raise the ship.

"I don't think we will have a problem getting off-planet." Siri said absently, still looking at the shadows in the hangar below them as they took off.

She could see a darker shadow near the entrance, watching them leave. Could feel Vader's eyes on her.

She got up abruptly. "I'll be in the back if you don't need me."

"Of course," Obi-Wan said as he watched her go. They had gotten clear of Vader's ship, and he began to input coordinates. Once they had made the jump to hyperspace, he made sure the autopilot was on and then went to find Siri.

_She took the one step into the apartment needed to let the door shut behind her and stood stock still without switching the light on. The silence stretched on for several minutes until she raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"_

"_Hello, Siri," a voice came wryly from the darkness. "You look well."_

_Siri walked past the living area to the kitchen bar and set her bag down on the counter. She turned and faced the dark-shrouded figure on her couch. "Did Master Yoda send you? Come to promise me knighthood like he did?"_

"_I volunteered" Obi-Wan stood up and turned to face her fully. "I don't think you understand how important it is that you help us with this matter."_

_Crossing her arms, Siri leaned back against the counter. "I understand that you have hundreds of Jedi to choose from. You're wasting your time. And I'm tired, so if you don't mind…."_

"_Tired?" he said mildly. "Yes, I would think that after seven years of working for slavers and running scams would make you tired." He took a step towards her. "And three years with absolutely no contact at all with the temple! How am I supposed to react to that?"_

"_After 3 years I would think even you could get the hint." She snarled "When someone doesn't call or leave a forwarding address, it means leave them alone."_

_He looked steadily at her. "I can't leave you alone. Our situation grows worse; it is becoming harder to reach the Force. Darkness is taking over. Besides that, we cannot continue to ignore the fact that you are floundering. We've heard reports of your methods when you are working for Krayn. Of you hurting people."_

"_Only people that get in my way," she smiled tightly. He blinked. "Look, I'm not using the Force for anything except survival. I'm not a dark Jedi. Not a Sith. So leave me alone. You have no reason to follow me or to harass me about going back to the temple."_

"_I'm not asking you to come back to the Temple," he said. "I'm asking you to help us with this one mission."_

"_Well that isn't going to happen, Kenobi. There's a reason I left. A few actually." Siri frowned at him. "I don't believe in what the Order stands for anymore. I will not risk my life for something I cannot stand behind."_

_For a long time Obi-Wan just stared at her steadfastly. Finally he turned to leave, but paused at the door. "At least I know I have someone I can buy if I need help in….underground operations." He said dryly._

"_You could," Siri sat down and glared at him icily. "But I don't do business with Jedi anymore."_

_After he left she sat quietly, her narrowed gaze fixed on the door._

Siri was standing in the middle of the small common room. She remembered that day as if it were yesterday. Yes, she had refused, but when the massacre of the Jedi had occurred, she had killed Krayn and found her way to Yoda. There was no way she could deny the mission after Vader had gone to the dark side. They had made her a Jedi Knight, ignoring everything she had done the last three years and calling the whole ordeal her 'trial'.

Obi-Wan walked through the door and towards her. She was hugging herself, staring at the floor. The Knight put his arms around her and pulled her close. "He's so lonely, Obi-Wan. And he trusted me. He trusted our friendship."

"Well, with friends like us…..." He replied. Pulling away slightly, he put his hand under her chin and brought her face up until her eyes met his. "Siri, I know this was a tough job, but we knew you could handle it. You did an excellent job." He smiled at her sadly. "Anakin chose his own path long ago. We can only hope if he survives what you put into motion that he will rethink that path."

Siri took a tremulous breath. "Have you called in with the last bit of information yet? How long until the Emperor is dead?"

"I sent it just before we went into hyperspace," Obi-Wan said. "Your job is done."

She gave him a small smile. He returned the smile, then leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips.

Siri returned the kiss before pulling away gently. Holding his gaze, she took a breath. "Obi-Wan…I need you to drop me off at the first port we come to."

He furrowed his brow, his eyes showing surprise. "What? Why?"

Siri pulled completely out of his arms. "This mission has shown me once again that I truly do not belong in the Order."

She held her hand up as Obi-Wan started to protest. "It's true. I haven't belonged for a long time. I'm not naïve enough to think that they will change the rules now, and I just don't believe in them. I did this mission for you. For my Master, and all of the other Jedi that were destroyed. But now I feel that it is time to move on."

The frown deepened. "You really feel you have to do this?" he asked.

"Yes." Siri said without hesitation. "Drop me off, please." Without waiting for him to say anything else, she turned away from him and walked into the sleeping area.

Three days of silence later Siri stood at a port and watched Obi-Wan's ship lift off. She walked to the nearest eatery and put one small bag down on the table in front of the shop. Sitting down, she turned her attention to the screen hung in the corner of the restaurant.

The entire screen was outlined in a bold red border. There was a loop playing of a massive explosion running over and over. Across the bottom of the screen big block letters scrolled along and caught Siri's attention.

MASSIVE MULTIPLE EXPLOSIONS AT THE IMPERIAL PALACE. EMPEROR PALPATINE DECLARED MISSING AND POSSIBLY INJURED OR DEAD. LORD VADER ON HIS WAY BACK FROM THE OUTER RIM.

The blonde smiled tightly and motioned to a waiter to order a drink.


End file.
